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Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

This chocolate mold was manufactured between 1952 and 1972 by Randle & Smith, a company founded in Birmingham, England at the end of World War II. The owners of Randle & Smith sought out workers from the leading chocolate mold company, Anton Reiche, of Dresden, Germany, who had been displaced by World War II bombings. Reiche was well known for its quality and intricate designs.

This quart-sized, metal mold is part of a collection of ice cream-related artifacts that were donated to the Museum in 1977. The collection of 145 objects was amassed by Albert Hendler, of the Baltimore, Maryland, ice cream manufacturing family. This mold was probably used between 1900 and 1920.

The many shades of beer are achieved by the brewer’s use of different amounts and varieties of malt in the brewing process. Pale lager, Pilsener, amber ale, bock, porter, stout, and imperial stout are just some of the different types of beer that can be distinguished by both taste and color. Standardizing the color of beer was one way brewers in the late 19th century sought to ensure the quality of their products and the colorimeter, keyed to the Lovibond scale, was an instrument that helped them achieve that goal.

This colorimeter was used for comparing the color of beer samples to a standard range of colors for malt beverages. Its scallop-edged, metal wheel houses sixteen tinted panes of glass, ranging from very pale amber to dark brown. A clear pane of glass is positioned in the center of the wheel, beneath which protrudes a small metal shelf. The wheel is mounted to an iron rod that ends in a three-legged stand, providing stability to the top-heavy instrument. The instrument is 28” high, indicating it was used on top of a table or work surface. It would have been used with a light as well, to ensure the correct match between the sample and the various tinted panes.

The brewmaster would place a sample of beer in a clear glass container on the instrument’s shelf. By turning the wheel, the operator would match the color of the sample with one of the tinted panes of glass. Each of the colors in the wheel represents a standard measurement called “Degrees Lovibond” or “˚L,” a scale developed by Joseph Williams Lovibond, a British brewer. The colors are numbered and correspond to different beers, from pale lager (L 2) to imperial stout (L40+). In 1885, Lovibond established a company, the Tintometer Ltd., to manufacture his colorimeter, called the Lovibond Comparator. This instrument is not an official Lovibond model—there are no manufacturer’s marks and the instrument shows signs of custom welding. But according to the donor, it was used in an American brewery, possibly in Baltimore, beginning in the late 19th century and likely into the early years of the 20th century.

The Standard Reference Method (SRM) has largely replaced the Lovibond scale, with the SRM showing results that are approximately equal to the Degrees Lovibond.

This colorimeter is part of a large collection of brewing material donated to the museum in 1967 by former brewmaster Walter Voigt, of Ruxton, Maryland, near Baltimore. Voigt’s collection consists of objects and archival materials reflecting the history of brewing in the mid-Atlantic region between 1870 and the beginnings of consolidation and large-scale, industrial production in the 1960s. His correspondence reveals an interest in preserving the history of brewing in America before brewmasters were “replaced by chemical engineers and highly trained chemists in modern laboratories.” Voigt’s papers are housed in the museum’s Archives Center, Collection #ACNMAH 1195, “Walter H. Voigt Brewing Industry Collection, 1935-1967.”

This colorful framed print, an ad for the Welde and Thomas Brewing Company, of Philadelphia, also commemorates the 1895 America’s Cup race between the American yacht Defender and the British Valkyrie III. Imagery of the yacht race dominates the print and the American vessel, the ultimate victor in the match, holds primacy of place. Defender’s full sails provide a dramatic canvas for the names of two of the company’s products: Penn and Sanitas Beers. These brands, along with Quaker, were among those brewed by Welde and Thomas.

Three detailed insets border the print. One shows “Penn’s Brewery of 1682” in Pennsbury, Buck’s County; another shows the Welde and Thomas buildings at Juniper and Fitzwater Streets in Philadelphia; and the third is an image of William Penn holding a bottle of beer. The ad deftly aligns Welde and Thomas beer to icons of American success: the very founding of Philadelphia and its early embrace of brewing as well as an American yacht’s triumphant defense of the America’s Cup.

German immigrant John Welde established a brewery in Philadelphia in 1884, forming a partnership with Philadelphia businessman John Thomas the following year. In 1886, they moved to the Juniper and Fitzwater Streets location and invested in new equipment, increasing their capacity dramatically. In 1897, Welde and Thomas consolidated operations with five other breweries, organizing under the name Consumer’s Brewing Company. Thomas died in 1899 and Welde in 1901.

This print is part of a large collection of brewing material donated to the museum in 1967 by former brewmaster Walter Voigt, of Ruxton, Maryland, near Baltimore. Voigt’s collection consists of objects and archival materials reflecting the history of brewing in the mid-Atlantic region between 1870 and the beginnings of consolidation and large-scale, industrial production in the 1960s. His correspondence reveals an interest in preserving the history of brewing in America before brewmasters were “replaced by chemical engineers and highly trained chemists in modern laboratories.” Voigt’s papers are housed in the museum’s Archives Center, Collection #ACNMAH 1195, “Walter H. Voigt Brewing Industry Collection, 1935-1967.”

Electric yogurt makers have been used in the United States since the early 1970’s, having come into production and use as a result of the increased yogurt consumption in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Increased American visitation to Europe and exposure to yogurt’s widespread consumption there, combined with the period’s alternative food movements, the rejection, by many, of mainstream, industrial food, and the new back-to-the-land/do-it-yourself movements resulted in a new interest in yogurt, among other once “exotic” foods.

The 1960’s saw the introduction of many foods. Before many of the ingredients common to the new and “healthier” foods became mass produced and common in grocery stores, as many did in the 1980’s, aficionados would make their own yogurt and bean sprouts. While many made their yogurt, using milk and yogurt cultures, in glass or ceramic containers, many took to the new small appliances that produced enough yogurt for a week’s worth of consumption. This Salton Corporation machine, c. 1974, was among the most ubiquitous in households through the 1990’s. The machine’s popularity declined, however, as commercial brands of yogurt became more widely available, though several brands of electric yogurt makers are available in 2012 and some still prefer to make their own.

This object is a Ronald McDonald stuffed doll dressed as a clown figure. The doll is made of two pieces of fabric, sewn together in one long seam. Various colors have been screened onto the fabric to look like a yellow jumpsuit with red zipper, red boots and a red and white striped shirt and socks. The doll has red hair, with a red nose and lips and white face. On the back side McDonald’s® is written in black letter with the golden arches logo. Ronald McDonald made his national debut for McDonald’s in 1966 during a nationwide television commercial. He was later provided several friends and nemeses who lived in McDonaldland, which was all part of an advertising campaign created to appeal to children.

The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.

In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.

This object is a Mayor McCheese stuffed doll dressed in purple pants, pink jacket and a yellow shirt sporting a purple sash that says “Mayor” but the “M” is a golden arches logo. The doll is made of two pieces of fabric, sewn together in a single seam. The “clothing” has been screened directly onto the fabric. He has a cheeseburger head and is wearing a purple and yellow hat with the double arches logo on it. On his back, “Mayor McCheese” is written in yellow lettering. Mayor McCheese joined the McDonaldland crew in 1971 as part of McDonald’s® advertising campaign aimed at children.

The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.

In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.

This object is an Officer Big Mac stuffed doll dressed in the blue uniform of a police officer with a Big Mac for a head. The object is made of two pieces of fabric sewn together in a single seam. All clothing and accessories have been screened directly onto the fabric. He is wearing a belt with a double golden arches logo for a buckle and a whistle. He has a large gold star on his chest. On the back the words “Big Mac®” appear in gold lettering. Officer Big Mac joined the McDonaldland crew in 1971 as part of McDonald’s® advertising campaign aimed at children.

The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.

In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.